Motifs
Mythopoeia and Justice Issues There are several traces demonstrating that The Sea of Trolls, The Land of the Silver Apples, and The Islands of the Blessed are part of the center of fantasy – mythopoeic fantasy. One of the features is the struggle between good and evil, in The Saxon Saga appearing as a struggle between life and the unlife. Life and life forces are represented by the Bard, Jack, and their allies. As a skald from the Order of Bards, the Bard serves the life force, believing in balance in all of the nine worlds. The unlife is represented by several antagonists, such as: King Yffi, half kelpie, who killed the former lord of Din Guardi; Nechtan, a pictish king, who serves Man in the Moon, sacrificing sons to gain immortality; and finally Man in the Moon, the ultimate force of the unlife, and perhaps even the personification of unlife itself. The readers do not actually meet Man in the Moon in the books, but he is mentioned many times. Restorative and retributive justice are very substantial in The Saxon Saga. Nancy Farmer presented these two justice issues in order to show that revenge is not the answer, and it is better to forgive, because vengeance may never end, and devour many lives. Such thing happens with the draugr, who once was a mermaid, but due to father Severus’ action, she died, and claiming revenge after years. On the other hand, restorative justice offers a solution to the problem of vengeance. Retribution focuses on the offender, while restoration on both the offender, and the victim. The Bard wants to end the conflict between Father Severus and the draugr-mermaid, and sacrifices his own life to stop the process of vengeance. Thus, Father Severus is spared, and the draugr gets her justice. Last, but not least important feature of mythopoeic fantasy is a happy ending. The Saxon Saga ends with a happy ending, when The Bard, who was thought to be dead appears, not dead at all, and together with Jack and Thorgil sails to the Islands of the Blessed, on which both Jack and Thorgil will receive a bards training. Motifs *''' ' '''Yggdrasil' - In Norse mythology it is an enormous tree that is central in Norse cosmology, in connection to which the nine worlds exist.In the oldest sources sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central and considered holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil to assemble at their things. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. The tree is inhabited by different creatures, including the wyrm (dragon) Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is 'Odin's horse', what means 'gallows'. This interpretation comes about because drasill means "horse" and Ygg® is one of Odin's many names. The Poetic Edda poem Hávamál describes how Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin's gallows. This tree may have been Yggdrasil. However, opinions concerning the meaning of the name Yggdrasill differ, especially at the point of whether Yggdrasill is the proper name of the tree or if only the full name askr Yggdrasil (Old Norse askr means 'ash tree') refers to the tree. If we follow the second interpretation, askr Yggdrasils can stand for the world tree upon which the horse of Odin, who is the highest god, is detained. Yet another interpretation, proposed by F. Detter, is that Yggdrasill is connected to the word yggr ('terror'), but not to the Odin’s name, and for that matter Yggdrasill could mean "tree of terror,” or again “gallows". The fourth etymology was presented by F. R. Schröder. In accordance to it yggdrasill means "yew pillar", by separating yggia from igwja (yew-tree), and drasill from dher- (support). Nancy Farmer again gives a lot of attention to this issue. Jack and his friends go through different worlds in each of three volumes and meet mythic creatures connected to Norse mythology. The Bard seems to be the best source of the knowledge about the Yggdrasil, at least in Jack's village, which as many others in that times is already possesed by christianity. As the story continues Jack meets the Vikings that base their entire life upon the idea of going to Valhalla after the death in a battle. Vikings' knowledge about Yggdrasil is far better than Jack's, who very often realizes that people's imagination of heaven depends on what they believe in. Nowadays, Yggdrasil is sometmes used in modern popular culture like: : • Die Nornen by K. Ehrenberg (painting) : • Yggdrasil by Axel Revold (fresco) : • Hjortene beiter i løvet på Yggdrasil asken by Dagfin Werenskjold (wood relief carving) : • Vårdträdet by Viktor Rydberg (poem) : • Yggdrasill by J. Linke (poem) : • The Saxon Saga by Nancy Farmer (prose) * Growing Up - The motif of growing up is also mostly highlighted in the first volume of the Saga. When we meet Jack he is a little, eleven years old boy who starts to learn from the Bard about magic and the life force. But as the story continues, the boy not only has to manage on his own but also takes care of his younger sister, Lucy. While travelling with the Vikings Jack learns how to fight, defend his rights and make his own decisions. In the next volumes Jack is not a child anymore. He is treated as an adult person, and more importantly as a young Bard with certain achievements. What the reader spots from the very beginning of the second book is the fact that boy's first responsibility is to stand up for his new position. * '''Friendship' - During the first book especially, As the adventures goes on, Jack learns that the Northmen (Vikings), whom he treated as enemies, are not only humans for their friends and families but also humans and friends for him and his sister Lucy. In the second book the reader can observe that Jack is very attached to Thorgil, no matter who she is and what she is able to do to other people. Her safety and health are one of his greatest concerns. Very often one can read about that Jack wants to hug or comfort his friend, but because of the fact that he does not do it, the reader knows how well he knows the girl. The motif of friendship is also strongly related to the motif of forgiveness. In the second book of the Saga Jack asks how many things can one forgive? Aparently, he can forgive a lot because his frirendship with an impetous Thorgil lasts. In her books Nancy Farmer gives a lot of attention to those motifs which make the story a passionate not only for the adventures but also for important human relations.